Coco Montoya.(RIFFS: Blues)(Interview)

HENRY "COCO" MONTOYA IS ONE OF THOSE exemplary players who bend their awesome technique to fit their artistic expression. The 55-year-old bluesman was originally a drummer who only fooled around with the guitar on the side. He landed a five-year stint drumming for Albert Collins in the early, '70s, and the "Master of the Telecaster" proved to be the perfect guitar mentor, guiding his left-handed protege to a gig with John Mayall and his new Bluesbreakers in 1983. In 1993, Montoya finally went solo. Three rocking albums on Blind Pig in the mid '90s--and, ironically, receiving the Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist in 1996--were followed by a move to Alligator in 2000. Dirty Deal [Alligator] is Montoya's bluesiest and gutsiest release to date.

Have you always played left-handed and upside down?

Yeah. I never knew any better. I started playing around 12, and we didn't have money for lessons or things like that, so I was too insecure to let anyone see me play. I never knew there was either a right- or left-handed way to play. Also, if you watch me, I'm pretty basic--just pentatonic. There's nothing flashy there. On a technical level, I know what I know, and what I allowed myself to know. That's the drawback of being strictly self-taught, and it's why I encourage people to learn more about the guitar than I did. My whole game has been listening, watching and applying.

When did you first realize that Albert King also played left-handed and upside down?

Not until I saw him. That's also when I realized that what Eric Clapton and John Mayall were playing didn't come from England [laughs]. When I saw Albert King--with his patent leather shoes and all--he just reached in, grabbed my heart and soul, twisted them around, and stuffed them back in me. I had tears in my eyes. This was what Eric was doing with Cream, but better. I looked at King, and I thought, "He's playing the way I do." Of course, I later realized, "No, I play the way he does."

Describe your vibrato technique.

Most of it is rocking the web between my thumb and index finger against the back of the neck. I don't hook my thumb over the neck because I am pulling down like Albert King, rather ...